Exploring the Latino Metropolis: A Brief Urban Cultural History of US Latinos

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio was the child of immigrants who left Cuba in 1956 as economic migrants. Born in 1971 in Miami, he was part of a generation of Latinos that were more liberal than their parents before them, having been born in and received an education in America. He attended law school in the University of Miami, before going into politics, getting elected to a position in Miami and then in the Florida House of Representatives. There, he moved to the position as majority whip into the speaker. During his time in the Florida senate he demonstrated a proficiency for bipartisanship, working with Democrats during his tenure as whip, majority leader, and speaker. He ended his time in the Florida Senate in 2010 when he ran for the Senate in 2010 where he won and became one of the two Latinos Senators.

After one term, having been elected in 2010, during the large Republican retake of the government, Rubio announced his presidential bid. Citing his experience with legislating in Florida and his Latino background, he quickly became the establishment choice after other candidates dropped out for various reasons.  



With his politics being largely moderate, Rubio represents a changing Cuban, and more broadly, Latino Florida demographic. Although the Republican leanings of the Cubans in Florida have not disappeared, they have changed with the younger generation having no enmity towards Cuba, yet maintaining their stance on other conservative issues such as energy and policy in the Middle East. Rubio however, has become more conservative on the issue of illegal immigration, having been forced to take a more hardline stance on it to woo Republican voters for presidency. It has yet to be seen if Republican views and the broader Latino politics are reconcilable, even under a Republican-Latino politician.
 

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